Lee–Metford

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mitch-ell

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Lee–Metford

Hi im kinda new here, but im form NFLD and recently came across an old 1891 Lee–Metford, the guy i bought it off said he shot a moose a few years back with this same gun, i had the bore examined by a gunsmith and he said the gun is indeed shootable, but the extractor lug it missing from the bolt, as is the spring in the mag. It is a beautiful gun and i would like to get it working to its full potential. If anyone has any idea on where i could find a bolt or some other bits and pieces it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!



 
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I am no expert and sure others will chime in. You may find commonality in a Long Lee which come up from time to time in the EE as sporterized.

Is they butt stamped with any military markings?

Sweet rifle and hard to come by
 
very nice rifle ,was looking at a sporter on the EE last week was going to buy it but did not as the fore stock was cut and front barrel band and bayo lug were missing ,other than that it was complete.bought one of martins no4 long branch rifles instead
 
Thanks for the responses, i sure hope someone could point me in the right direction to find some parts for this nice looking gun. I always had a think for the old wooden 303s. Here is a couple more identifying photos, hope it helps. Oh BTW CMichaud , as i mentioned im new here, you said you seen a similar gun for sale in the "EE"? lol whats that?







 
mitch-ell said:
Thanks for the responses, i sure hope someone could point me in the right direction to find some parts for this nice looking gun. I always had a think for the old wooden 303s. Here is a couple more identifying photos, hope it helps. Oh BTW CMichaud , as i mentioned im new here, you said you seen a similar gun for sale in the "EE"? lol whats that?
Click to expand...

EE is the equipment exchange.

The long Lee-Enfield is very similar to the Lee-Metford. The biggest difference was an Enfield barrel vs Metford barrel

The facing arrows are sold out of service markings

The DP denotes "Drill Purpose" There are a variety of reasons a rifle could be relegated to DP. If everything checks out on your rifle I would assume that this was due to the Metford barrel. The use of cordite ammo was found to erode Metford rifling hence the short lived experience with the Lee-Metford
 
The nose cap appears to be from the later MkII Lee Metford. Could you post a pic of the nose cap and the front of the bolt where the extractor lug is missing?
 
Great example of an early Sparkbrook!

You are missing a handguard, which is not that hard to find - they come up here and there one e-bay and such. You are likely also missing the extractor claw - any one off a more common SMLE should fit. The mag spring is a tougher find, the Metfords don't take the same kind of spring as an SMLE.

Either way, that is a rare and valuable rifle in that condition. It should be displayed and not abused in the field, lest you diminish its value through damage.
 
It is a MkI nose cap but the separate front band is missing.
All MLM MkI were 8 rd.
IIRC none of the MkI and II bolt parts interchange. Will take a look.
 
The gun you have is a Lee Metford Mk 1* I think. The Mk 1s had a safety on the off bolt side. They only had an 8 shot single stack clip. Lots of parts are different from the Mk 2s and the Long Lee Enfields.
 
You have a very early Lee Metford, one of the first. It is a Mk.I

It is a little different to the usual long Lee Metfords and Lee Enfields in that this one has an eight round single stacked mag.

The construction of the bolt is quite different to later models. The bolt head is retained in the end of the bolt body with a single screw bearing in a groove. If the screw comes loose, then the bolt head can come adrift. The bolt head is again different to later models in that it incorporates a dust shield. Not easy parts to find.

The Mk.I Lee Metford can be identified at a distance by the finger grooves in the forearm, the finger divot underneath the knob of the magazine cut off, bolt dust cover retained by screws and the long angular front magazine.

IMG_59911.jpg

You have a mostly complete rifle, the hard parts to find, and which usually get lost, for the most part are there. I Think that you might be missing the upper barrel band with swivels too.

Be careful cleaning it up. Be gentle. With rifles this rare (yes, it is a rare one), it can be too easy to overclean and actually loose collector value. Something this old should look old.

The Mk.I came into production in 1890, it was Britain's effort in the arms race of the day. It was then Brits first magazine fed service rifle. It was a weapon still under development, the Mk.II quickly came out in 1892 with many improvements.

It carries the 'twin sisters' Ordnance Dept markings (double reversed R) which denotes a condemned rifle. Not suitable for firing for whatever reason they found at that time. It was subsequently relegated to 'Drill Purpose' for use as a non firing training rifle.

Nice one. You have a great project.
 

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What would be a suitable trade off for this rifle, if i cant find the correct parts i may consider letting it go :( I always like the look of the wooden 303 rifles, and this is the closeted i have gotten so far, what would it be worth if anything?
 
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